The Ukrainian drone manufacturer «General Chereshnya» and the Finnish defence company Patria have signed a memorandum of understanding regarding the production of unmanned aerial vehicles in Finland. Initially, the future products will be intended for the needs of the Ukrainian Defence Forces. The document was signed during a Ukrainian-Finnish round-table discussion attended by Presidents Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Alexander Stubb.
Briefly about the main points
- The parties have signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) regarding the manufacture of drones in Finland.
- The needs of the Ukrainian Defence Forces have been identified as a priority.
- The Ukrainian partner is Center of Unmanned Technologies LLC.
- Patria hopes to jointly develop systems for Western Europe as well.
- The agreement is separate from the intergovernmental ‘Drone Deal’ initiative.
The agreement sets out the direction for future cooperation
Patria has described the signed document as a ‘letter of intent’. The company plans to set up drone production in collaboration with a Ukrainian partner.
The agreement is not a contract for mass production that has already begun. At the same time, the stated priority for the Ukrainian Defence Forces means that the future project will be geared primarily towards Ukraine’s needs.
Finnish industrial capabilities will be combined with Ukrainian expertise in UAVs
The Ukrainian company operates under the brand name «General Chereshnya», its official name is Centre of Unmanned Technologies LLC. According to Patria, the manufacturer develops and mass-produces attack FPV drones, fibre-optic-controlled UAVs, air-target interceptor drones and fixed-wing UAVs. Among its solutions, the Finnish company highlighted the Bullet interceptor.
The partnership is intended to combine Ukraine’s expertise in mass production and the rapid refinement of equipment based on frontline data with Patria’s manufacturing infrastructure. The Finnish company has been operating in the defence industry for over 100 years, manufactures solutions for land, sea and air systems, and holds a 50 per cent stake in Nammo.
Patria has stated that it is considering the joint development of unmanned systems for Western Europe’s defence needs. These are systems that combine drones, sensors, communications, data, artificial intelligence and platforms designed to operate in an electronic warfare environment.
Corporate agreement complements the Ukrainian-Finnish defence dialogue
The signing took place during a round-table discussion attended by the Presidents of Ukraine and Finland. The Finnish delegation’s visit to Kyiv was also marked by agreements between other Finnish companies and their Ukrainian partners.
Kyiv and Helsinki had been preparing an intergovernmental framework since May Drone Deal, and in July the presidents once again discussed defence cooperation in this area. The memorandum between Patria and General Cherry is a corporate agreement concluded against the backdrop of this political dialogue.
In April, the eALLIANCE programme, led by Patria, had already signed a memorandum of understanding with the Finnish-Ukrainian company Double Tap Investments and the Lviv-based IRON cluster regarding the exchange of information, joint testing and project planning. The new LoI expands Patria’s practical cooperation with the Ukrainian defence-tech sector.
